Cowboy Combination Gun: The LeMat Shotgun Revolver with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson

[@dragon12234]

For those wondering about "The sword as the main weapon of the cavalry man". Essentially, ever since the 17th century the pistol and carbine gradually replaced the heavy lance (the light lance largely remained) for the heavy cavalry, so the tactic basically became that he heavy cavalry would shoot at the enemy as they charged, and once they made contact the cavalrymen would hack away with their swords. In germany and france these heavy cavalry, the Cuirassiers, still even had metal armor even into WW1, which was moderately effective against muskets/rifles at long range, pistols at closer, and bayonets and swords in the melee

[@colbunkmust]

The Germans didn't continue wearing cuirasses into WWI like the French did. The Prussian army discarded them in 1888 iirc due to its ineffectiveness against smokeless powder rifles cartridges it was tested against.

[@dragon12234]

@@colbunkmust Ah right yeah, my error. By then they only used it as part of their parade dress

[@lavrentivs9891]

It should be mentioned that swedish cavalry in the early modern period did not fire their pistols at range, but saved them for the melee where they were unlikely to miss and much more likely to penetrate the armour of their opponents. It is one of the reasons why swedish cavalry were so effective during e.g. the 30 years war and Great Nordic War.

[@dragon12234]

@@lavrentivs9891 well, it was as part of the charge, but yeah. As pistols became more accurate firing at range became more effective (and many carried multiple pistols for different phases of the charge)

[@Vonstab]

​@lavrentivs9891 Swedish cavalry used the same tactics as the other European nations. Everyone aimed to use pistols only at the point of contact and in the melee. The Swedish advantage was the use of combined arms which included using platoons of musketeers and even light regimental cannon to prepare the way for a successful counter-charge.

[@DaveEverett01]

I'm sorry to have disappointed you by using a diecast LeMat, but we needed 4 and also rubber ones. The decision was made before shooting that no blanks would be fired, so no need for a real one.

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

Please don't apologise Dave - you did a tremendous job - this is just my nerdy nitpick. I didn't detract from the film as I say. And I do understand that if you don't need a firing repro, there isn't much justification to source one (four!). If you're ever in this neck of the woods please get in touch and I will gladly show you the collection.

[@DaveEverett01]

@@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries That's a wonderful offer, I'll definitely take you up on it next time I'm up that way.

[@devinflint5554]

I've heard after the Rust incident a lot of productions (if not all) are going CGI with muzzle flashes and stuff. Plus George Miller is famous for prioritizing safety on his sets, so might he have done this regardless?

[@DaveEverett01]

@@devinflint5554 The main reason for vfxing all guns in Furiosa was to save time. It takes time to get prepared for any blankfire scene, the crew need to have safety gear, everything needs to be rehearsed and after each take the guns are examined. We shot for pretty much a whole year and still went over by a month. I was also called back about 9 months later for some pickups. Blankfire would have added a lot to the schedule. The decision was made prior to Rust, and Rust further solidified it. On the first main unit shoot day, George talked for about 30 minutes about safety and incidents on previous Max movies.

[@TheHalflingLad]

@@DaveEverett01 The more I learn about George Miller, the more I admire him. Also, thank you personally for your work on that glorious film!

[@alexmaths1016]

The signature weapon of the Man in Black (Ed Harris) in the Westworld TV show although his appears to be a customised cartridge version in .38 Short Colt, he also carries a complete second barrel/cylinder assembly on his belt. Also used by Jayne Cobb in Firefly with some sci-fi greeblies added.

[@aaronleverton4221]

He robbed from the rich And he gave to the poor Stood up to the man And gave him what for Our love for him now Ain't hard to explain The hero of Canton The man they call Jayne

[@whyjnot420]

@@aaronleverton4221 Here, have some Mudder's Milk.

[@RevanAlaire]

Forgotten Weapons did a video on the LeMat used in Westworld.

[@Graham-ce2yk]

One also crops up in a 1980s Clive Cussler novel called 'Deep Six'.

[@ryklatortuga4146]

You see a LeMat getting reloaded by Arnold's pal Sven in "The Quick and the Dead"

[@Manco65]

Got a short story concerning a LeMat reproduction and a Colt 1873 reproduction. An old local gunsmith always wanted a LeMat. So he ordered the blue prints from Dixie Gun Works. One day a guy comes into his shop and spies the LeMat behind the counter. He started bartering with old Charlie over it and Charlie didn't want to sell. Eventually Charlie said he'd swap for a 1st Generation Colt SAA. A week or so later the guy comes back with one and they trade. About a month later the comes back mad as heck and says "That LeMat wasn't real!". Charlie replied "Well neither was that Colt!"😛

[@Dustypilgrim1]

Fell in love with the Le Mat when it featured in a series of illustrations displayed on the back of Wagon Wheels wrappers in the late sixties/early seventies. Wagon Wheels being the round chocolate covered 'mallow and biscuit confection. These were about four times the size in those days. That illustration was my first sighting of one . A repro Black powder model is still on by 'to get' list... Le Mats are the epitome of the 'Beautiful Ugly' concept.

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

Alas our editor is too young to know the beauty of megasized wagon wheels

[@twobob8585]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum Original or jammy??

[@michaelamos4651]

Great little story

[@Dustypilgrim1]

@@twobob8585 original. At the time they came in bright yellow wrappers with the picture of the gun and description on the back.

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKbPiGWwaZ1me8k

[@Fruhmple]

I'd love to see a behind the scenes tour just looking at all the racks of guns you guys have. Not regarding what guns you have but how they're all stored, how the shelving works, all the logistic bits.

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

We'd love to do this but have to be very careful not to show their layout for security reasons. We might be able to show you a shelf or two ;)

[@n_tas]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum That in itself is fascinating!

[@4d4m22]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum That would be fascinating. I certainly wouldn't fancy filling in the insurance assessment form! 😁 On another note I'd wanted to ask about some of the rifles on the racks behind Jonathan in the previous location. A couple seemed to have competition UIT rails and handstops

[@Fruhmple]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum Fair enough. I'm more interested in how the firearms are stored, organized, that sort of thing. Since you guys have thousands of firearms throughout history I'm curious how you guys manage that. Also, thank you for the great content!

[@kittehgo]

​@@RoyalArmouriesMuseumSurely you can't just as a civilian walk into your storage, security reasons makes it sound like you have the weapons in a unsecured closet next to the supply room. Or very poor security over all like a camera that is fake or a security guard with narcolepsy 😁

[@martincann5052]

My first encounter with the LeMat was in the pages of 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' where it was Allan Quatermain's sidearm of choice.

[@NostraDahut]

11:04 the vertical grip evolution is mainly due to the fact most french revolvers by the time also switched for vertical grips, this is basically the same grip as the lefaucheux 1870. Every major french revolvers productions by the end of the 1860' were made of vertical grips, such as the perrin 1869, the galand 1872, chamelot-delvigne 1873, mas 1873, maquaire-fagnus 1874, gastinne-renette 1874 and goes on. Even the pidault-cordier raphael 1860, the perrin 1859 and other revolvers by the end of the 1850' started switching for the vertical grips, this was a "natural" evolution of the overall french revolvers industry.

[@sn0wgnome]

i appreciated the clip from hot fuzz when jonathan said "swan shot"

[@tomwinterfishing9065]

Still use ‘SSG’ swan shot as fishing weights👍

[@moosemaimer]

"Haven't you ever wondered why the murder rate is so low, and the accident rate is so high?" t h e s w a n

[@JacobHimmelhaver-m8g]

Is swan shot the same as turkey shot?

[@whyjnot420]

Its always good albeit rare, to see LeMat firearms getting some love in movies (or tv or whatnot). You would think that they would be more common, just because of the surprise factor of the shotgun barrel (to a general audience). Let alone the fact that they are just cool and look great.

[@R3LL1K1]

I had fun using the LeMat in Red Dead Redemption 2s online, never failed to catch other players off guard in close range with the shotgun. Was even deadlier when I used two LeMats at once.

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

Just so long as you weren't one of those varmint rifle headshot-ers 👀

[@R3LL1K1]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum No sir! I liked either the Carcano or the Bolt-action Rifle(Krag Jorgensen).

[@Skorpychan]

I never did online, but just kept a sawn-off shotgun in the off-hand slot for single player when in a city or out hunting. The LeMat had terrible stats compared to a proper revolver, or a proper shotgun. I could bring a combination weapon, or I COULD just bring a really big boom along as a pistol and have full control over what I shoot and when.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@Skorpychan I preferred just having a LeMat in just shotgun mode because it was such a beautiful weapon when customized.

[@Sableagle]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum How about Left 4 Dead, with infinite pistol reloads? One of these three LeMat designs, or a swing-out .22 LR, versus a few thousand Infected?

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

I've always loved to look of the LeMat.

[@Wafelkowiec]

One of my favourite firearms. I think I first encountered it in Hunt: Showdown, where they fictionalised it a bit with break-action acces to shotgun barrel and smooth cylinder of the original while being center-fire.

[@heibk-2019]

I love the Carbine version in Hunt

[@heibk-2019]

I love the Carbine version in Hunt

[@Paladin1873]

I may be showing my age a bit, but back in 1959 a short-lived, but popular, western series titled "Johnny Ringo" made good use of a highly modified LeMat revolver. The show was created by Aaron Spelling and produced by Four Star Productions (so called because it was formed by major motion picture stars Dick Powell, David Niven, Ida Lupino, and Charles Boyer). The series starred Don Durant as former-gunfighter-turned-honest-sheriff Johnny Ringo (yeahy, they really rewrote history there) and Mark Goddard (better remembered later as Major Don West in "Lost in Space") as his trusty deputy. Ringo's "seven shooter" was really a 10-shot Lemat that had been converted to fire nine 44 rimfire blanks and one dummy shotgun shell (using a pistol blank insert). The writers called it a "410" because they thought that sounded bigger than 18 gauge or 20 gauge (roll eyes). The gun had been acquired by producer Dick Powell, who I believe was a collector. It was in nonfunctional shape at the time, so he had the gunsmiths at Hollywood's premier prop gun company, Stembridge Gun Works, modify it so it would break open and close in a fashion similar to a S&W Model 2 or Model 3 revolver. Actually, it was a very clever conversion, and one that I am surprised LeMat didn't think of. Indeed, it's a pity nobody is offering such a pistol today. After the series ended, Powell gave the gun to Durant, who owned it until his death in 2005. I don't know what became of the revolver after that, but it certainly would be an interesting find for "Forgotten Weapons". If you want to learn more about the Ringo revolver, I suggest you visit the Johnny Ringo website, specifically page www.johnnyringo.net/lemat.htm. It contains links to more information, including a somewhat inaccurate article from a 1961 issue of GUN WORLD. Keep up the good work!

[@hunterhess8433]

Very fascinating, I knew about the percussion, pinfire and rimfire versions, but I had never heard of or seen the centerfire version before. Thank you for sharing.

[@ZGryphon]

To expand a little on "SGDG", the phrase translates to "without guarantee of the government," and essentially means that by granting the patent, the French government certified only that the invention was _novel,_ not that it _worked._ Basically a limitation of liability--vintage CYA. :)

[@brianfoster4434]

This gun is also featured predominately in the "Deathlands" series of books from the 1980's. Doc Tanner carried it. Great escapism SciFi books.

[@briandix4633]

Glad I scrolled through to see if anyone mentioned it, the first time I'd heard of it, and a series I'd love to see as a show(the way they've done GoT or the Wheel of Time - although I'd prefer more accuracy to the books than WoT)

[@tibedog5629]

@@briandix4633 There is currently a show being filmed right now, a crypto bro bought the tv rights and he has Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker) directing it. The only down side is that the crypto bro is using it as his launching show for his own streaming service. But on the plus side Frakes when interviewed said he use to read the book series up to about book 62 before he felt the quality really began to tarnish and drop off. (which I absolutely agree with) So he's at least read 62 (63 if he read 0: Encounter that came out later) of the 126 printed books before they switched to digital format only with Graphic Audio for the past 24ish. Apparently season 1 will be Pilgrimage to Hell up to Homeward Bound so 5 books with I think he said 4 episodes per book so 20 episodes for season 1 and you could literally call that a day if they decide to end it at Homeward Bound if it doesn't do good.

[@briandix4633]

@@tibedog5629 I had heard rumors off and on over the years, but nothing recent, thanks for the update

[@poppazoz]

@@tibedog5629 Dude that is awesome. Thanks for letting us know.

[@JnEricsonx]

Oh thank god someone mentioned it.

[@princecharon]

The LeMat, especially the percussion version, is a pretty extreme example of 'switching to your sword is faster than reloading.'

[@causewaykayak]

So much Ingenuity in these antiques. Really nice finish on these specimens. Clearly given loving care by the RA team.

[@KaijuBiologist]

The Lemat is my favorite American Civil War era pistol, and my dream is to own one, even a reproduction. Always glad to see a detailed video. Good job, as usual.

[@evilgenius2221]

I have to say, having never seen the centre fire variant before it is possibly the coolest firearm I have ever seen, if they ever make a steampunk Bladerunner or movie version of Perdido Street Station this needs to be in it (along with the Nock Volley gun, another personal favourite)

[@violentneon2999]

Great timing ! Just had watched Forsaken (2014) with BOTH the Sutherlands in it and Kiefer used this at the ending shootout.

[@brain_drops]

There's the cartridge conversion sorta short-handed version of this gun in Hunt Showdown that, no matter how impractical it would be, is a total dream gun for me. Something about the look and functionality of this revolver just speaks to me

[@jelkehuisman]

This has to be my favourite pistol type. All of the variations are absolutely badass. Followed closely by the c96, ofcourse.

[@itsapittie]

I really like the Old West revolvers that weren't Colts. I'm always excited when a LeMat, Merwin and Hulbert, or Schofield shows up in a TV show or movie. In the 1997-99 Showtime series Dead Man's gun, the "haunted" revolver is a highly decorated Schofield. In the 1971-73 series Alias Smith and Jones, Hannibal Heyes (Smith) carried a Schofield as well. Johnny Ringo featured a LeMat revolver, although it wasn't authentic in that it was a top-break cartridge-loaded version. I haven't seen a Merwin and Hulbert that I can recall, but if I did, I'd probably squeal like a Taylor Swift fan.

[@AllAboutSurvival]

It's amazing to see how this unique piece of firearms history not only played a role in the American Civil War but also made its way into modern cinema.

[@silerthinprath4283]

I've loved using the LeMat revolver in Hunt: Showdown, interesting I haven't seen many comments about it. Although in Hunt Showdown it is modified to be Centerfire and a break open shotgun reload while still using the same form factor as the original model. And it had a carbine model which I am assuming doesn't exist at all.

[@cohort6159]

The first time I saw a LeMat was in about 1990 while standing in line for a Charlotte NC gun show. Fellow in front of me had one in a presentation case and he was there to sell it. Later i told my friend about it and he was of course very knowledgeable about it being a big gun guy. Ill never forget how he described it. "It was the Mac10 of the Civil War" speaking of the high capacity and firepower in such a small package.

[@TrevdawgBD]

My uncle and I loved the LeMat in the original Red Dead Redemption, and I don't believe it was able to fire a shotgun shot. Love the look of it. My uncle even got me that same replica that was apparently used in Furiosa!

[@ZazuYen]

Heh, when I saw him first lift up that centerfire LeMat my first thought was, "that looks like the Sameritan!" I'm glad he did the call-out later on.

[@avg.player]

I like this gun very much in Hunt Showdown: large magazine, cheap and has a good amount of utility with the shotgun!

[@kurtisdeakin]

West world used one, too. One of my favourite guns.

[@stephenhester9804]

The one used by The Man in Black looks like the Percussion Cap one but Loaded but used a Removable Chamber & Barrel set that held 38 Colt Cartridges and a 20 Gauge Shotgun Shell.

[@johndoe-so2ef]

The quick and the dead features one also.

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

I mentioned it :)

[@hex4393]

Without a doubt one of the coolest revolver designs out there. Would love to get one of the black powder repros at some point, though a modernized version firing modern cartridges would be killer too.

[@jameslittleton4131]

I have been fascinated by the various LeMat revolvers since seeing re-runs (I'm not quite that old) of the old Johnny Ringo TV series, and am always happy when it pops up in a new movie/show.

[@CuproHastes]

I've been to the Royal Armouries a couple of times. Even took a friend from the US: 11/10, you absolutely do not know how good it is. And yeah, the Jousting! They do that! They even have a crossbow range you can test your skills with!

[@nobodyyouknow1065]

1:51 Did the armorer on set know what a Bridgeport Rig was or did they just stumble on the idea by accident hundreds of years after the first guy did?

[@MandoWookie]

The Sam Raimi western The Quick & The Dead has both the stud holster rig & a LeMat featured prominently(though by different characters) & the rig is used for a gag late in the film too.

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

That's possible. I didn't, however!

[@foowashere]

I'd love more pinfire content on the channel btw. Not much out there, and a wide variety of practical, whimsical, luxury and novelty arms available. Thank you for making and sharing!

[@Ansgrim]

The toggle for the replica shotgun barrel isn't missing. The revolver you have is a later pattern revolver, it is a fun coincidence that it has the same serial number, but the revolver in the movie is a replica is of an earlier design where the shotgun hammer toggle is done by pinching the sides of the hammer and flipping it down, you can see the hinge pin in the hammer at 3:05 when the extreme closeup of the gun is shown.

[@qwerty2008100]

The shotgun barrel did get significant use on the movie. After Dememtus throws the gun at the Cranky Black. Furiosa picks it up and shoves some sort of cartridge down the shotgun barrel. This is presumably the barrel she shot Dementus with in the first version of his death. I noticed this detail today when rewatching the movie.

[@lscf]

The first design is absolutely gorgeous, peak revolver

[@derekp2674]

Really fascinating, thanks Jonathan and team.

[@1981Speedwagone]

The furiosa does have the drop hammer for the shotgun. There are two styles of them. The lever on the top like yours, but the earlier models had one where there are small tabs on each side to flip it down. Its more awkward hence the simpler redesign,. The reproductions come in many varieties and mixes of real lemat features like that, the spur guard, and the pin cylinder locking system? Pietta really used every option on these, which is pretty cool.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

Even without the cartridge being any more powerful, that little bit of upward shift necessary to line the hammer up with the centerfire primer will make a substantial increase in the amount of muzzle flip. Hence why there are some designs like the Chiappa Rhino that fire off the bottom of the cylinder instead of the top.

[@Irondrone4]

I first got introduced to the LeMat in the Hard Targets source book for Shadowrun: 5th edition. Specifically, the LeMat 2072, which in-universe was expressly a reimagining of the design to capitalize on the popularity of western tridshows at the time. I think one of the writers of the source book had just gotten done watching the Westworld TV show and liked what they saw. No art of what the 2072 model looks like, sadly, but it is a massive revolver able to fire nine pistol rounds and one shotgun shell, so it fits the bill in terms of game mechanics.

[@tibedog5629]

Doc Tanner has rocked this in the Deathlands for going on 38 years and over 150 books. I hope Jonathan Frakes gets the weapons right in the upcoming Deathlands tv show he is going to be directing.

[@JnEricsonx]

This is really happening? God, back when I first read the books I thought of Richard Harris as Tanner!

[@un1d]

A design feature I’m wondering about is why the percussion LeMat has a perfectly circular circular cylinder, like most revolvers at the time, but the centerfire version has this strange cylinder where every chamber is its own little tube. I’ve never seen that on any other revolver myself.

[@NostraDahut]

These are called flute cylinders, revolver devisme 1859 have a few flute cylinders versions for rich customers. The cylinder is lighter but needs more craftmanship thus not as cheap and not as common. Modern revolvers aren't perfectly circular either for the same reason, the flute cylinders revolvers were ahead of their time.

[@reekhavoc2932]

the different variants of the gun look sooo badass

[@eoinhowe7970]

Another pop culture appearance: Inman, the main character of the novel Cold Mountain, picks up a LeMat on a battlefield and carries it for at least half of his journey home, including using the shotgun at one point. I think they followed that in the film version too. The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia has, or had when I went, the original LeMat owned and carried by Col. Jeb Stuart in the Civil War.

[@parrotraiser6541]

I imagine the psychological effect of facing that profusion of barrels and chambers was more important than absolute power measurements.

[@Mankoi1701]

Because people have been noting Westworld and Firefly, I'll also mention that a percussion LeMat is used (very briefly) by the character Gutzon in The Quick and the Dead. The preparation montage even shows the loading process, complete with use of the ramrod and beeswax across the chambers to prevent chain fire. It's also usable in Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2. I can't speak to how it's shown in RDR1. The RDR2 version, however, has a special reload animation that shows Arthur Morgan thumbing a percussion cap onto the nipple at roughly the same time he appears to load (presumably) a paper cartridge into the chamber, before rotating and pulling the ramrod. Because it's a video game the reload is amazingly swift and can be done easily in the field, but it's a nice touch that the gun has a unique reloading animation. On a personal note, I have a character in a Supernatural TTRPG whose primary weapon is a reproduction LeMat, similar to the one in Westworld, named Lydia, (though he also makes frequent use of a Burgess folding shotgun). I have never seen a single full episode of Supernatural, but given my GM allowed this character design, how could I refuse?

[@mrwashy2259]

I've got a few of the first pieta (navy arms) production guns. I like having firearms with two digit serial numbers, even replicas. I also picked up a few frames from navy arms, when they were clearing inventory, that were never serialized

[@joaoie]

Happy to report that the shotgun feature was wonderfully highlighted with a close up of loading, and even called "rat shot"

[@wittsullivan8130]

Furiosa loads the shotgun barrel with a shell from the muzzle toward the end of the movie. I really, really want a Pietta replica, but new ones cost $1500 and used ones are still over $1000. The prices have more than doubled since I got into shooting blackpowder back in 2007, while other cap and ball replicas have gone up 25% or so, at most. :(

[@gufbahl]

that centerfire lemat is one of the coolest guns i have ever seen. it's so bulky

[@svenhillring3275]

I have one of those repro LeMats for public displays. I don't have to worry about losing a valuable weapon or people freaking out over a real weapon.

[@cpl.barbarusc4814]

I was surprised when it showed up as Dementus sidearm, and also I love the inclusion in Sam Raimi's The Quick and The dead, where they alos show how is it reloaded.

[@SimonLandmine]

Nice to know about that Denix LeMat - I thought it looked familiar - I had one a while back, partly for use as a portrait photography prop, but also for all the steampunk RPG gamers who decided they wanted this awesome thing - I could then hand them one so they would know what weight they would be lugging around with them ...

[@markgordon4368]

The Westworld one was really interesting 😊 thanks for the content 👍

[@lok3kobold]

It's always fun to see Ferguson show of his 'gun' and fiddling with his 'knob'

[@skasteve6528]

Since the shooting on the set of Rust, I'd expect there to be a major increase in CGI shooting scenes in future. I do like the style of the percussion cap LeMats. I believe the pinfire model was the first metal cartridge case revolver available in the USA, closely followed by the S&W model 1. Of course I may be wrong.

[@tibedog5629]

I hope they go to the fancy airsoft guns with the illuminating flash hider things over cgi as those are near enough to realistic to pass for me. heck, I'll take the flashy winky literal light bulbs like they did the Starship Trooper sequel. watching the cgi in tv shows and some movies is painful as it is so fake and wimpy. the walking dead cgi is really awful when the swapped away from blanks watching everybody jiggle their guns to make it look like they are firing and no bolts or actions are cycling lol. I didn't get past 15 minutes of expendables 4. When the bad guy walks up to the tank firing a revolver and some guy in post made the revolver eject empty brass like a semi auto rifle each shot (the first one the brass ejected to the right, the second it ejected to the left) I noped out of that movie lol.

[@zombiebiker5581]

As used by Doc in the Deathlands series (books) by James Axler

[@zombiebiker5581]

But I’m not sure which version, I think it was cartridge ,rim fire or centre?

[@tibedog5629]

@@zombiebiker5581 the first was ball and cap for an extended period of time. The only annoyance was that even though it always staid black powder and cap the caliber always changed. sometimes it was a .36 with a 16 sometimes it was a .44 with a 10 sometimes it was a .32 with a .410. When the ghost writers got into play it really became dodgy for a few scattering books. It was about book 70/71/72 that he switched to a replica .44 magnum centerfire cartridge with a 16 g barrel (that sometimes went to a 10 or 18 or a 12 g but always remaining .44 centerfire once again depending whomever was the ghost writer) JB wanted him to get something 'from this century' but Doc told him that a centerfire cartridge was 'from this century' and that it being .44 magnum with the underbelly shotgun JB couldn't argue against it not being 'sufficient' in force lol Also loved him telling JB it'd suck if JB were to die while Doc was trying to figure out how to learn a new firing mechanic when there was a perfectly fine modern LeMat for him to use with his muscle memory for control and aiming and that he only needed to re learn loading cartridges into the cylinder which would be easy lol

[@zombiebiker5581]

@@tibedog5629 thank you're the in-depth reply

[@TheHorzabora]

I was first introduced to this by someone wielding a Denix replica (I think of the center fire version) in a Firefly LARP. Where it fits perfectly, of course. Such a cool, if ridiculous, firearm :-)

[@TinkerBobV8]

Okay, but the cartridge LeMat is funky and cool, and I love it.

[@VinceW187]

The second pistol should be in every movie! It looks epic

[@vonsprague7913]

The LeMat was a beautifully elegant weapon for killing gentlemen but the pin fire version is the most Steampunk/Warhammer thinv I've ever seen! Both are beautiful, thank you.

[@colinmoore7460]

Apparently they are quite popular with the Steampunk crowd.

[@GameplayRunner]

Iam here because of hunt showdown lemat revolver. Nice to learn about it. Thx Jonathan.

[@HazelS71]

Absolutely fascinating firearm and by FAR my favorite sidarm to use in Red Dead Redemption 2 its a faithful companion during the story mode and an even mightier Bite in the online side of the game super accurate in the game and looks and sounds amazing!! i naturally gravitated to the blue steel finish with gold engravings throughout and having two of these beasts duel wield is a lot of fun Brilliant Video Jonathan Do play Red dead 2 if you have a spare week or so for one of the greatest video games ever all love godbless!!

[@BigJohn4516]

In the novel “Cold Mountain”, Frazier went into great detail describing Inman’s LeMat revolver. The novel was very different from the movie.

[@lordofworldz]

That is a really really cool gun. I don't know a lot about older fire arms but damn I kinda want one XD

[@davidharing6475]

Rimfire LeMat? Never knew that existed, too bad we didn't to see it.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

They're ugly ugly things, you're better off not seeing it.

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

Watch this space :)

[@Matt-md5yt]

This is awesome. Glad you covered a cool revolver

[@stalesvindland5101]

The kick/rotation from the centrefire version must be wild.😅

[@tonyneo6100]

Great info, never new of a breech loading LeMat. Thank you.

[@dandel351]

Was just about to comment , looks like a Hellboy gun . But then you put it in the end. I'd love to see someone firing one of these or at least one of the repro guns just to see the muzzle flip on these guns.🔫

[@clumsygarage1578]

hey, this is nice given how much Hunt Showdown I've been playing recently. I haven't learned to love playing with it yet in the game, but it is very cool. Also, am I the only one who thinks that it would have been cool if they took design cues from the centerfire model for their "uppermat" version?

[@eliazersanchez7842]

1:57 in the furiosa movie it was probably fired twice and loaded once. around the ending of the film, when confronting Dementus furiosa is seen loading what looks like a brass shell into the muzzle of the shotgun barrel. would've loved to hear Johnathan comment on this, johnny the boy how did you miss that lol much love though.

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

I've seen it once and didn't recall that detail, thanks. They no doubt created a faux round for him to stick down the Denix's barrel. But obviously a brass cartridge isn't going to work even in the real weapon.

[@rashkavar]

Rather an ordeal to reload this thing, but very cool. Also wow that cartridge fire model comes very close to firing off the pistol and the shotgun at the same time! Given the mild imprecision of mass production, I wonder if there were any models with the nasty surprise of double firing. (probably wouldn't make too much of a difference for the person taking the bullet vs just the shotgun blast (dead=dead with an extra bullet hole), but that'd be a lot more recoil to deal with)

[@davidroeder7299]

Bone Tomahawk is another great movie in which this gun appears.

[@DMRaptorJesus]

I just recently watched that one, it was a really good horror movie. Not for the faint of heart!

[@Blinkerd00d]

I have a Savage with a 22lr on top and a 20ga on bottom, the hammer has the same little selector switch to choose which one is fired.

[@js671]

Dennis Quaid carries one in the Bass Reeves TV series. I think he used the shotgun to breach a door at one point if I remember right.

[@HailKosm]

Honestly, the LeMat system is just a nice and stylish system. Would love to see a modern smokeless take on one but it would probably be enormous. A rifle/carbine version would also be cool, revolver carbines/rifles always look very aesthetic although it would struggle with the core issue for those rifles which is the cylinder gas spray on to your off-hand. Not very pleasant.

[@toonarmy42]

dropped in to Leeds Armouries today had a great day was hoping to bump into you but no luck

[@giantnerd14]

Yet another gun that should be in games.

[@Xhucklefunk]

Towards the end of the movie, furiosa loads some kind of cartridge in the shot barrel. The hammer switch is also in the scene.

[@caryk3028]

Really quite fun 🎉

[@bl4cksp1d3r]

While the design of the Percussion cap version is iconic, I feel the the centerfire version would've fit better into Madmax

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

Although the Bullet Farm exists, weapons and ammo don't seem as prolific until it's rebuilt, so a percussion arm actually makes a lot of sense. No need to worry about cases or loading ammo, just loose powder and homemade caps. They're doing just that in Nigeria as we speak.

[@bl4cksp1d3r]

@@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries Oh yeah absolutely, I was just focusing on the design alone. But yeah, getting you hands on a percussion cap or flintlock weapon might come quite handy when you don't have the setup to make cased ammunition, but still can get your hands on Gunpowder and bullets/balls. I imagine you could even repurpose ammunition that wouldn't fit into any other gun you might have? Opening up a .308 for it's gunpowder

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

@@bl4cksp1d3r I agree it feels like a weird fit.

[@ZazuYen]

This probably came down to the fact that Denix makes a reproduction of the percussion version which is easy to get and relatively cheap (while Pietta makes a working repro, which are harder to get and not cheap) but no one makes reproductions of the cartridge version. They would have had to make their own reproductions, and since 99% of the audience wouldn't notice or care about the difference it wasn't worth it. On a side note I've sometimes thought about the proliferation of guns in post apocalyptic fiction and how smokeless powder is considerably harder and more dangerous to make than black powder. As supplies of pre-apocalypse ammo dried up I think black powder would become more and more common and weapons that wouldn't jam up quickly from fouling would be sought after. Probably not percussion era like this, but old school revolvers and lever actions for certain.

[@plaguepandemic5651]

Black powder is also very easy to make, it's literally just 4 ingredients. And lead is very easy to melt down and cast. I've always thought that historic firearms would be perfect for the post-apocalypse.

[@Stormpriest]

It also showed up in 12 monkeys at the tail end as well as a centerfire variation. Apparently in Brendan Fraser's The mummy

[@rogerwennstrom6677]

It certaintly was in 12 monkeys, but I don't remember it from the mummy? According to imfdb Brendan Fraser used a Chamelot-Delvigne Model 1873 in that movie.

[@Stormpriest]

@@rogerwennstrom6677 by the profile, I mistook them for centerfire, LeMats. Thanks for the correction.

[@samholdsworth420]

Mad max and Jonathan? 🤤

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

Match made in heaven?

[@samholdsworth420]

Definitely Not complaining 😊 Cheers!

[@samholdsworth420]

O no not TikTok...lol

[@Bighero6MOH]

Wow can imagine the recoil. Must be powerful

[@SorryBones]

It’s such a novel idea, reminds me of a Drilling rifle. Combination guns are so whacky - LeMat just has that chunky look that screams old west hand cannon, too. It kills me it’s cap & ball, I would kill for a cartridge conversion that doesn’t give up the style of the OG lol

[@boychowskibrothers]

I have the exact same diecast LeMat 😄 It's a heavy lump of a thing.

[@Bighero6MOH]

Kool❤ weapon, combination of shotgun and revolver.

[@captspaulding8530]

The LeMat was also in Red Dead Redemption. One of my favorite multiplayer weapons.

[@kiltysalter2966]

Inman carried one in ‘Cold Mountain’ the iconic civil war novel. I’ve not seen the film so I don’t know if they accurately portrayed it there.

[@lady_draguliana784]

the more vertical grip also seems to move your hand out of the way of the loading gate.

[@weaselwolf]

I've got one of those replicas. It's fun and rather impressively heavy but i was disappointed that the secondary hammer didn't work.

[@ajs3046]

It would be great to know where you got the guns featured from and when etc. Thanks for the videos - love em

[@F1ghteR41]

9:35 I wonder if the Swiss took inspiration for their M1878 and M1882 revolvers from these? If so, the idea eventually came around to be used in France on the Mle 1892. 9:45 I was wondering why an 1860s French revolver was still cap-and-ball instead of pinfire (given the success of Lefaucheux), and then I went and checked to find out that it was originally made in the States. 13:31 This, I think, is a rare case of a centerfire revolver which cannot be practically redesigned for using a frame-mounted firing pin for more reliable ignition. 17:55 Why would one have a lanyard loop in such a place? It looks to be most inconvenient!

[@jeremiahsafford1389]

4:46 was grease used for to prevent chain fires historically or is that only more recently?

[@AKIS_Proto]

One video i made features the lemat, and we referred it to as a "Cap-and-ball black powder revolver," which, as long a name that is, is a perfectly acceptable description in place of "grapeshot revolver."